Buying at TC Green Rama 9, step by step: from deposit to transfer day

Anyone who has not bought a condominium in Thailand before tends to assume the paperwork will be complicated. It is not complicated so much as it needs to happen in the right order, especially for a foreign buyer who has to remit funds from abroad. This piece lays out the actual sequence for this unit, from the day you call to arrange a viewing to the day you walk out of the Land Department with the keys. The cost figures themselves live in our separate article on running and transfer costs — this one is about order and paperwork.

Before any money changes hands

Before putting a deposit down on any unit in a building with a high share of foreign buyers, the first thing to do is ask the juristic person whether the 49% foreign quota for that particular tower is still available. Some towers in a project can have the quota mostly used up already. If it is full, a foreign buyer would need to purchase through a Thai company structure or a long-term lease instead — a materially different arrangement, and one worth knowing before you decide rather than after.

• Ask the juristic person how much foreign quota remains in that tower
• Get a copy of the title deed and check the registered owner matches the seller
• Agree in writing exactly which furniture and appliances are included in the price
• Agree who pays which share of the transfer fees and taxes, before signing anything

The reservation deposit and the sale and purchase agreement

The common pattern for a Bangkok resale condominium is a reservation deposit to hold the unit, followed by signing a Sale and Purchase Agreement within days to a few weeks. The deposit amount and the transfer date are whatever the two sides agree — there is no fixed formula. This unit is priced at ฿5.2M and the owner is open to negotiation; the deposit amount and timeline for this specific sale are worth discussing directly with Honey on 064-135-7958.

For a foreign buyer: the remittance paperwork

The Condominium Act requires that a foreign buyer taking freehold title bring the purchase money into Thailand as foreign currency. The receiving bank in Thailand issues a Foreign Exchange Transaction form, known as a FET, which the Land Department requires to register the transfer. The Bank of Thailand's threshold for a formal FET is remittances of USD 50,000 or more; below that, banks typically issue a different form of credit advice instead, so it is worth confirming with the receiving bank in advance whether what they issue will be accepted for registration. The remittance should state the purpose as "purchase of condominium unit," ideally with the project name and unit number, so the paperwork matches the actual transaction.

Transfer day at the Land Department

On transfer day, both buyer and seller attend the Land Office together, or send an authorised representative. Staff calculate the fees and taxes from the unit's government-appraised value, not the agreed sale price — the appraisal figures and the tax breakdown are already covered in our costs article. Once the fees are paid, the transfer is registered the same day, and the keys typically change hands then too.

A typical timeline

The figures below are a general shape for this kind of transaction in Bangkok, not a fixed schedule for this specific unit — it depends on each buyer's own funding and paperwork. A Thai buyer paying cash and ready to go typically transfers within two to four weeks of signing. A foreign buyer waiting on an international remittance and the FET paperwork usually needs one to three additional weeks, depending on the sending and receiving banks.

Viewing and offer

Same day to a few days

Deposit and SPA signing

Within one to two weeks

Thai buyer to transfer day

About two to four weeks after signing

Foreign buyer to transfer day

Add roughly one to three weeks for the remittance and FET

The paperwork itself is less than people fear. The order it happens in is what has to be right.

If you are considering this unit and want a realistic sense of your own timeline — whether paying cash, financing through a Thai bank, or remitting from abroad — contact Honey on 064-135-7958 to talk through your specific case.